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'10 times great grandson' of Guy Fawkes joins Ukip

The UK Independence Party has hailed the recruitment of a man with family connections to Guy Fawkes, with leader Nigel Farage saying it showed "the blood of rebellion still runs in his veins".

Mr Farage said retired headteacher Philip Fawkes was the "10 times great grandson" of the leader of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot and the party speculated that he might one day get to the Commons by legitimate means.

A spokeswoman said that in fact he was not directly descended but shared a common ancestor in the Catholic plotter's fifteenth century great great grandfather.